Fertilization Process Explained

When thinking about the fertilization process, the majority of the people don’t have in mind the story of the flower and the bee.

They refer to the meeting of the egg of the female with the sperm of the male during sexual intercourse. This is an important process that ensures the continuity of life.

Information about the process of fertilization

As a result of the process, there is a new life created within the egg that has the genetic characteristics of the parents.

At a certain point of development, the egg becomes a zygote, then an embryo and in the end the fetus develops as a new organism.

Look for fertile window

Normally the process of fertilization occurs during sexual intercourse and it happens in the fertile window of women. It is a known fact that, in the majority of the cases, women have their fertile window around the 14th day of their menstrual cycle. Before ovulation occurs the cervix produces special mucus.

In case of the fertilization process, this mucus is very important because it facilitates the travel of sperm to the uterus and to the fallopian tubes. When a woman ovulates, the ovary releases a mature egg that travels through the fallopian tube. There is a window of 12-24 hours for the egg to be fertilized.

Step two

For the process of fertilization to take place, the sperm that is released into the vagina travels through the fallopian tube, seeking the mature egg. It is interesting to know that during ejaculation there are hundreds of thousands of sperm released but only one gets to fertilize the egg and start the process.

Unlike the egg, the sperm is able to survive for 48-72 hours in the reproductive tract of women and the fertilization process could take place in the moment when the egg is released and the sperm meets the egg. In that moment they form a tiny zygote that in 9 months will turn into a baby.

The embryo

As a result of the process of fertilization, a very small zygote is formed that needs to go through cell division in order to become an embryo. This process takes about 5-7 days, and once the embryo is formed, it gets implanted into the sensitive lining of the uterus.

After the fertilization process is done, there are numerous developmental stages that the embryo has to go through. These are completed in nine months in the womb, after which the baby is ready to be born. Once the placenta starts to form, it releases a special hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (or hCG).

Women usually encounter this hormone for the first time as part of the process of fertilization when they take a pregnancy test. The hormone gets into the blood and the urine and this is what the pregnancy tests can actually test for. If the results come back positive after a missed period it means that the process was successful.

IVF process of fertilization

It isn’t a must for the fertilization process to take place inside the womb. In case a couple has fertility problems they could also opt for IVF or in vitro fertilization. This is a process that takes place in a laboratory setting. Here the eggs collected from the woman are united with the sperm collected from the male partner.

In this case the fertilization process takes place in a glass dish. When the embryo is formed, it gets transported to the uterus where it is artificially implanted. After this the baby is able to grow and develop as it normally would have.

Fertilization Process Explained was last modified: June 19th, 2012 by pnreddy1